WHODUNIT?

REVIEWS BY BRUCE TIERNEY

Suicide or murder?

Revenge of Innocents, Nancy Taylor Rosenberg's fourth novel featuring probation officer Carolyn Sullivan, is a study in how little we know about our friends. Carolyn, by most measures, lives a storybook life. Her family is harmonious; she is engaged to the man of her dreams; she has just gotten a promotion. Before her job upgrade, she worked alongside her childhood friend, Veronica Campbell. Now she is in the somewhat uncomfortable position of being Veronica's boss. Veronica's life is the opposite of Carolyn's: Her career has gone downhill, her family runs roughshod, and it looks as if she is having an extramarital affair with a co-worker. Then the unthinkable happens—Veronica is found dead in a cheap hotel, half of her face blown away by her own handgun. The coroner thinks it's a suicide, but that doesn't wash with Carolyn. Her hunch solidifies when she receives an anonymous letter warning her off the case. Well paced, timely, intense and thought provoking, Revenge of Innocents will appeal to readers who like a dash of romance in their thrillers.


Forced confession

Retired FBI profiler Gregor Demarkian (widely regarded as the American Hercule Poirot) returns in Jane Haddam's latest thriller, Glass Houses. As the book opens, a Philadelphia serial murderer dubbed "The Plate Glass Killer" has struck again, but the case appears to be open-and-shut. Henry Tyder, awash in the victim's blood, has been arrested at the scene of the crime, and more importantly, he has confessed. Two problems, though: First, Tyder is a bit of a loony; second, he has an irrefutable alibi for one of the murders. To further complicate matters, he is the ne'er-do-well scion of a prominent Main Line family and a longtime blackout alcoholic. His attorney engages Demarkian to look into the case, with surprising and chilling results. Like the 20-odd Demarkian novels that precede it, Glass Houses is a beautifully written, insightful and compelling mystery. And, if the denouement is a bit improbable, hey, so were many of Hercule Poirot's.


Looking into a cold case

Best-selling author Harlan Coben returns with a high-drama slasher thriller, The Woods. Twenty years back, four teenagers ducked out of their summer camp dorm rooms for a night of merrymaking in the forest. Two of them were discovered the following day, their throats slashed. The other two were never found. Fast-forward two decades: Paul Copeland, whose sister Camille was one of the two never found, is now the prosecutor for Essex County, New Jersey. In the final days of a high-profile rape trial, he is hit with a bombshell—the other supposed victim has turned up. He is dead, but only recently so, leading Paul to wonder if his sister could also have survived. Before he finds out, he will have to tangle with the elite of his city, the state governor and even the Russian mob. The answers he finds will not be what he (or the reader) expects!


Mystery of the month

It's not often that an author's first book wins the coveted Tip of the Ice Pick Award, so extra congrats are in order for Grace Brophy, whose The Last Enemy tops this month's recommendations. Set in Assisi during Holy Week, The Last Enemy chronicles the investigation into the murder of a wealthy American woman. It should be a cakewalk for experienced Commissario Alessandro Cenni, but he runs into opposition at every turn. His boss wants a scapegoat, and fast; the aristocratic Casati household will tolerate little intrusion into their daily routine for something as sordid as a murder investigation; and even the Catholic church is putting heavy pressure to bear on the case. Brophy draws from experience when depicting the Assisi area: She lives part-time in Umbria. The characters are rich and involving—the clever and commanding Cenni, a sensual and witchy Croatian florist, a priest who sacrifices his vows for a beautiful woman. Fans of Donna Leon or Hakan Nesser will be ecstatic to find a kindred spirit in Grace Brophy.


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